<p>By now, all the admission decisions are out, and many of the U Chicago admits must be in an enviable position to choose a school among several terrific options. I would like to provide some food for thoughts for them and their parents (if they are out there reading this). It’s pretty long and rambling, but scan, peruse, skip and jump all around as you see fit.</p>
<p>I am sure students themselves are the best ones to share their perspective and experience, but I believe that a few additional observations from a parent could also provide an extra layer of nuance. I am a mother of a class of 2013’er. He is an econ major, aiming to enter the world of high finance upon graduation (yes, that dread “pre-professional” type). My son communicates frequently and openly with us including some “non linear” things that may horrify other parents. This is what allows me to formulate my view as a parent. </p>
<p>Some caveats first:</p>
<p>(1) My son is VERY, VERY happy at U Chicago. However, he is a pretty well adjusted, happy kid to begin with, so he could have been just as happy, and who knows, even happier, in other schools. You see, this is not a scientific experiment with a control group, so no aspect of current happy reality can be solely attributed to him attending U Chicago. The controlled experiment would have required creating an alternate universe where everything is EXACTLY the same except that he went to a different school. </p>
<p>(2) This post is written with NO intention to prove that U Chicago is better than other similarly well regarded schools, Ivies or not. If anything, I have a nagging suspicion that HYP, as a total package, are probably overall a better deal for average high performing, ambitious 18 year olds.</p>
<p>(3) We let him turn down a $50,000/year scholarship deal from another school to attend U Chicago as a full pay student. So, my positive view of U Chicago may be a product of my subconscious desire to minimize cognitive dissonance of paying through the nose for the school and regretting it. </p>
<p>(4) My view of U Chicago experience for my son is unabashedly rosy because of bubbly happy reports we are getting from him. However, I am keenly aware of the possibility that while it all worked out well for this family, some other families may have a very different experience. If there are those who experience it negatively, I will fully respect that view. No institution or university can be perfect for everyone. If there are those who are deeply unsatisfied with U Chicago, it must be for a good, valid, and non-trivial reason, NOT because of anything lacking on the part of the student but because of the combination of the school and the student – in short, the “fit” matters. </p>
<p>OK. Now, with these proper disclaimers, on with “how do I love thee, let me count the ways”</p>
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<p>First things first, let’s talk about the vaunted “life of the mind” mantra. Well, to summarize my take on this after watching my son for the first two quarters, it is NOT an empty slogan by any stretch of imagination. IT IS REAL. This is the part that I am happiest about. I felt that especially because he is going into such a practical field (investment banking), the four years of college may have to provide all the rigorous intellectual training other kids going to a Ph.D. program can get later in a graduate school. </p>
<p>I think there is such a thing as a zeitgeist. Each era or institution has its own. At U Chicago, it appears that intellectual way of thinking is in the air they breathe and water they drink. My son talks about having dinner with other kids where topics range from Hume to Marx effortlessly. And, having one-on-one discussions (some hours long) with faculty members on matters with a hefty intellectual focus. After six month at Chicago, he is conducting himself differently in various debates he has with us on wide ranging subjects such as politics, economics, culture, etc. I can definitely see that he is using a far more intellectually rigorous approach in presenting his ideas. These days, he frequently and playfully, chides me for using sloppy and incomplete logic in advocating my point of view. </p>
<p>My son’s initial interest in U Chicago was for its famed econ department. He said last summer that if high flying Wall Street jobs did not require a college degree, he would rather just go to Wall Street straight out of high school. Now, he says “If I have kids, I will send them to U Chicago for good education for the sake of education”. He understands the value of education for the sake of gaining an educated mind, and that’s a reason good enough to go to a good university, independent of a career prospect. </p>
<p>A major caveat is necessary here though. This is not really an amazing “substantive” transformation. Though he never really acknowledged openly and viewed himself as such, I knew him to be a budding intellectual with one of the sharpest minds I have had an opportunity to observe in my 20+ years of career in a highly competitive high tech field. He always had an intense curiosity about the world and a voracious appetite for knowledge. He has always been an extremely avid reader . What U Chicago did is to “out” this ambivalent intellectual and let him wear his identify comfortably and proudly out on his sleeves. A friend of his, who is attending another top 10 school, on the other hand, reportedly said he is really having a hard time finding a group of friends where he is comfortable talking about matters of intellectual heft and depth and not have that turn into a tawdry joke. I think this is the difference.</p>
<p>Is his intellectual development all because of U Chicago or could it have happened no matter what? One could never tell: as I mentioned earlier, it’s not a controlled experiment. However, I have a hunch that it has a lot to do with the fact that he is at U Chicago.</p>
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<p>Next, academic experience. Everyone talks about how tough it is at U Chicago. However, based on what I can see, my son is sailing through it with ease and aplomb, taking the most advanced honors math sequence and no fluff courses (I don’t even think there are such fluff courses at Chicago). I don’t think he studies that much for his courses. Don’t get me wrong. He does not seem to cut classes and does hand in all papers and homework in time. However, I don’t think he buries himself in a library, nor does he stress himself over the course work. If anything, he spends a lot more time doing ECs and reading on his own on subjects not related to his courses. He thought some of the text books are outrageously expensive so he did not even bother to buy them (much to our dismay), opting instead to borrow friends’ books now and then or reading them in the library. After two quarters, his GPA is closer to 4.0 than 3.5. So I have to assume that he is not flunking out, and yet he seem to have a plenty of time to engage in several meaningful ECs, having fun, goofing around, etc. One caveat though. He does not work. He earned enough money last summer for his personal needs. We pay tuition, room and board.</p>
<p>Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying this to taunt other kids or shamelessly boast mine. I am saying this because I am starting to wonder whether this “incredibly tough academic work at Chicago” is a sort of an urban myth the Chicago kids and alums are perpetuating to keep that “mysterious aura” alive and wear it like a badge of honor. Like Navy Seal legends and Green Beret stories of hellish combat antics. I have a sneaking suspicion that the “incredibly difficult Chicago academic work” may be grossly exaggerated. </p>
<p>Now that the issue of the difficulty of course work is settled, I would like to discuss the “real education” issues. First of all, I can CLEARLY see how his writing improved tremendously. He shares his writing samples (papers he had to write for the courses) with me because I expressed interest in some of the hum and soc core subject matters he was talking about . I have seen his writing while in high school, and what I see now is order of magnitude better. Some of them are gobbledygook, though an intellectual, high order gobbledygook (well, how could it not be such when you are doing compare and contrast between one philosopher and another, both of whom known for incredibly recondite style of writing). But, I must say, now his writing quality is at the Ph.D. dissertation level in terms of internal consistency, rigor, style, logical flow and the discipline (I call it parsimonious writing: everything necessary present and nothing superfluous that only distracts the reader) . </p>
<p>He talked about a line by line critique he got from a faculty member in one course during the first quarter for the first paper he submitted. He talked about intense one on one feedback he got on his paper from another faculty member – lasting over an hour. He showed the paper (a word doc) he submitted that was returned to him as a revised word doc from a faculty with 2 pages worth of thorough feedback he attached to the end of my son’s paper (that was 2 pages of single spaced comments for a 6 page paper my son wrote). I was surprised to notice that the critiques were as much on my son’s writing ability as they were on the subject matter itself. It’s very clear that my son would never be allowed to BS his way through any of the courses without demonstrating highly disciplined way of thinking presented in top quality writing. That’s, if he wants to get good grades. </p>
<p>Here is the thing that we did not expect and are very pleasantly surprised by. My son talks about hours and hours of one-one-one engagement with a faculty who is a residential master at his dorm. He just LOVES what he has to teach him and thoroughly enjoys hours he spends late night at the residential master’s apartment in the dorm or over dinner at a dining hall. He claims that this faculty taught him how to really “read”, not just processing words and phrases. This faculty’s specialization is writing. It seems like a lot of hours are spent by this faculty and my son discussing how to think critically and read thoroughly, and express oneself in an intellectually rigorous and disciplined manner. My son calls his sessions with the residential master a “talk to XXX course” and he believes that this is worth 1/3 of his tuition or more. Now, this is the opportunity not everybody seeks out, but the fact that such an intense interaction with a faculty is available for a 18 year old college freshman is simply amazing to me. </p>
<p>Could all this have happened in other elite universities? Perhaps. I wouldn’t know. Maybe all this routine in other places also. Maybe his growth is just part of a natural development (this, I doubt). </p>
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<p>Social experience: So, “where fun comes to die”??? Not based on what my son tells me. I know he parties every weekend. He does not keep it a secret. He calls me at night over the weekend, clearly tipsy and otherwise in a “sixth dimension”. So, I know he is not living like a monk. Before he went to Chicago, he avowed that that he would not fall into a nerdy, geeky, awkward Chicago stereotype, and he happily reports that he is very satisfied with his social life. Now, bear in mind that even with all the braggadocio, he never was, and unlikely to be ever, a hard core partier. After all, he went to a very geeky nerdy high school, so his standard for “hard partying” is pretty low. I suspect what he considers a wild social scene is very tame by the standard of the party schools. What’s important though is that he is very comfortable with the social scene and does not think he is missing out on any fun. He likes his friends. Likes his roommate. He seems to get along well with most of the kids there. </p>
<p>One interesting quote from him: “one of my goals these days is to learn how to control my emotional response. One important aspect is how to deal with nasty people, to learn how not to respond to these people with a burst of emotion, but rather to stay calm and cool. The problem is, at U Chicago, I don’t really encounter nasty, unpleasant people. So I have no opportunity to practice what I am trying to teach myself. That’s a problem”. Very interesting observation, don’t you think? Again, this may not be the universal experience. This may be just a sliver of U Chicago he experiences. </p>
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<p>Opportunities for pre-professional students: this is the biggest source of a pleasant surprise. We all thought that one major drawback of U Chicago for him is the lack of gravitas the school carries in Wall Street, and a dearth of practical, pre-professional support, professional networking and other such opportunities. Now, I am not saying that U Chicago lands you at a prestigious Wall Street position without you lifting a finger. It just that we had a very low expectation on this regard and we thought this is something my son had to work hard to over compensate for. So, our “pleasant surprise” is more in the line of “gee, it’s not such a liability. Not a huge plus compared to other elite universities, but not bad either. Besides, it seems the school is making an honest effort to help him along”. </p>
<p>My impression is, if you are a “motivated” pre-professional type, you have nothing to fear that compared with your comrades in HYP, you are disadvantaged form the beginning by attending U Chicago. Based on what I heard from others, in the world of high finance, the advantage of attending places like HYPW(Wharton) is pretty obvious for those students who were not so sure from the beginning that they are heading in that direction. In these places, even if you decide in the junior year that you want to join Wall Street, with the prestige of the school name and the ready made connections in the Wall Street dominated by your alums, you can get a relatively easy access to the Street. At Chicago, if you decide to join the Street late in the game, you may indeed be disadvantaged. However, a student who was motivated from the beginning with a clear professional goal, what you get at Chicago is plenty sufficient to put you on an equal footing with any wunderkind from HYPW. </p>
<p>First, let’s talk about access. For the Wall Street jobs, it does matter where you go to for college education since I learned that Wall Street, collectively speaking, is a diploma bigot. They don’t even recruit from colleges and universities that are outside of their “usual pool” (top schools). U Chicago is in that pool, very comfortably. All major finance companies recruit from Chicago. No problem here.</p>
<p>Second, how about the “perception” of U Chicago on the Street? Again, no problem. My son won a first place at a math/econ scholarship competition sponsored by a well known Wall Street firm, and on account of this, was hired as an intern during the summer before he started at U Chicago. He told me that when executives introduced this unusual high school intern to others they made a point of saying “XXX will be attending U Chicago in the fall”, and the typical reaction was “Oh, where the fun goes to die” with wink, wink. It was clearly mentioned in the spirit of “you are opting for a hard challenge. More power to you”. It was clear that Wall Street elite players are well aware of the caliber of students at U Chicago and it gave my son an aura of an elite in the making. He will be interning again this coming summer there.</p>
<p>Third, networking opportunities. I think it’s fair to say U Chicago’s alum network on the Street is not as wide spread as that of HYPW, by a wide margin. However, it appears to me that it may not necessarily a big liability. I am getting an impression, based on my discussion with some alums and parents, that because the network is not so pervasive, there is a strong sentiment among the alums there that they should take care of their own – sort of overcompensating for the lack of a ubiquitous U Chicago presence on the Street. U Chicago offers an “externship” during the spring break. It’s an opportunity to pair first and second year students with willing alum mentors in the field of their choice and have the students spend a few days at the alums firms during the spring break. My son took advantage of this opportunity, and spent two days in the NYC during the spring break in a Wall Street firm headed by an alum. U Chicago also opened the alum network for him. He sent email to a few alum players in the Wall Street, and pleasantly surprised that almost all the people he contacted were graciously making themselves available to meet with my son in person or, if they happen to be away during the spring break, talk over the phone. My son said, the externship, the networking opportunities etc were well worth sacrificing his spring break somewhere in a warm place. My son is also very active in ECs and clubs related to his professional goals and getting a lot of support from upper classmen. </p>
<p>So, in summary, for those motivated, there are plenty of opportunities. However, it’s not in the air they breathe and water they drink, like it is said to be case in some other elite Wall Street feeder universities. The students should take initiative if they have a clear pre-professional goals. My son is very motivated and taking advantage of everything the school has to offer. As it stands now, I can’t see how he would be better off at HYPW on the professional front. If anything, I think he is on a much better path than most of the Wall Street hopefuls from any top universities. </p>
<p>One caveat though. My son is benefiting from pretty hefty career mentoring at home. My husband and I have years and years of experience of dealing with multinational corporate power structure at an executive level. We coach him a lot on how to navigate through the corporate maze. How to talk to those in power. How to work with support staff (you will be amazed how critical this is!). How to create a network. How to cultivate a network. What to say to divergent group of people and how to say it. How to write the perfect initial introductory email that catches the attention of the influential people? How to read between the lines of what others are telling him. How to coax the “inner mentor” of influential people to come to the surface and nurture the promising young thingss like my son…. The list goes on. I believe these are very important part of his success factor so far. Certainly, this is not what he is getting at Chicago. I don’t know whether this level of soft mentoring is available as part of the career support in other elite colleges and universities. If so, this would be the BIG advantage of those schools that U Chicago does not provide. </p>
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<p>So, really long winded rambling….. I hope my input gives some food for thought for admitted students and their parents. As I said earlier though, this is just our experience. Other may not have such positive experience. You should listen to a wide variety of opinions and make a decision that is best for your individual needs.</p>
<p>Good luck to you all. For those who are coming to Chicago, welcome to the community.</p>
I still would rather see him become a Paul Krugman, than an Goldman Sachs’ CEO. But, what can you do. </p>